So I was out in the garden trimming the rose hips and I was amused that last year I wanted the petals and this year the hips. Last year I spent a great deal of time gathering up all of the rose petals I could find. I dried them and used them for various alchemical purposes. Mostly they were used to represent the crossing and chymical marriage. I still have a large bag of rose petals and a few dried roses.
This year I have all of the pretty rose petals I need and have been quite content let them become part of a beautiful garden floor tapestry. As I go out there I am reminded of the June brides treading on rose petals. It is really quite lovely. The real meat of the roses this year are the hips for their medicinal values. They are not flashy and they do not strike the eye or nose. They simply are the functional part of the operation.
So I got to pondering, how much of my magickal and mundane life is reflected in this pattern? Our eyes and senses are drawn to the bright and shiny parts, while we ignore the functional part of the operation. Now as a Pisces this become a really personal lesson. I am notorious for loving all things bright and shiny, but what about the substance?
Last year after my gentle nudges (please read as Pisces nagging) we moved the TV's out of the living spaces and have never looked back. It dramatically reduced the "noise" in the house and in my head. So instead of watching endless hours of television, I have been gardening and reading. The results have been a remarkable amount of progress on both fronts and an overall sense of peace in the house.
So perhaps this represents an internal shift for me, from the flash of the rose petals to the substance of the rose hips. We shall see...
2 comments:
I often find myself in the same quandary, wondering if I'm really Working or just Playing. In the moment, the things I'm doing feel like Work, but when the Work bears fruit I question whether it was really Work or just the equivalent of burning magnesium to see the pretty white light. I forget afterwards all the little changes that took place internally and externally, above and below during the Work in question. I think it's that when we do the petal Work, we're building up to the hip Work, and when we're at the hip stage, we see the petal stage as less than what we're doing now because we've already done it. I think the balance is recognizing that we must strive onward in the Work, but also appreciating the Work we've done for the value it holds.
Well said Brother Red. I suppose that is human nature to look at where we have been with a dismissive eye, yet you are right it is the foundation for that which is to come. A solid foundation is nothing to take for granted :)
Thank you!
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